D Brothers
by TheRoseThatKnowsPain
Summary: Because even when he's an insufferable, annoying brat, Luffy is still little brother and somebody has to look out for him, right? One-shots. Ace/Luffy brother x brother, no romance. Protective!Ace. Some swearing. Set after Sabo dies and before Ace sets out to be a pirate; No AU.
1. My Protector, My Hero!

**My Protector, My Hero!**

* * *

When his nine-year-old younger brother Luffy returns home one day with sucked in lips and decidedly wet eyes, Ace's brother radar is sparked and he feels an overwhelming sense of fury, ready to _destroy _whatever, or whoever, made his little brother cry.

So when he asks Luffy about why he was crying, Ace's patience is terse and short. "Stop being a crybaby and tell me what happened."

However, because Luffy is Luffy, he takes it the wrong way and gets angry to defend himself. "I'm telling you, nothing happened!"

"Cut the crap!" Ace reprimands loudly, and glares fiercely at his little brother, almost instantly regretting it when he saw the younger boy's eyes get even moister. "Aw, c'mon Luffy, don't be a crybaby!"

Normally, he would have said it harshly, but this time, it sounded more like a plea, a desperate one at that.

But then, Ace's brother instincts were one an all-time high and his brain was only thinking about '_protect Luffy_' and not '_save your pride_' like it usually was.

And when the first big, fat teardrops start to fall, Ace does not hesitate and falls immediately to his knees to be the same height as his brother, and gently strokes his otouto's black hair.

But that action seems to have broken the dam and Luffy starts sniffling and crying in earnest, but Ace only sighs and picks him up from under his arm pits and hugs him protectively, rubbing circles on his back soothingly.

It takes a few minutes before Luffy calms down again, his pudgy face red and wet with snot and tears, and Ace feels like hugging him again, but stops himself from doing so because he still wants to destroy whoever hurt his little (not-so-much-a-baby) baby brother.

Ace lets his little brother stand on his own, taking one of his little, plump hands and smoothing down his hair with the other, looking at him in the eye. "So, what happened?"

Luffy sniffles a few times before he answers. "W-Well, I was in Foosha Village to visit Grandpa a-and this boy held onto my hand when I was walking past and-and I didn't notice it 'til I was nearly a meter away a-and then h-he said I was freak of nature 'cause he saw my arm stretch so much and said that I should be ashamed for having ever been born and—Uaaaaaaa!"

Ace's mind goes blank with white-hot fury for a minute before calming down, soothing his little brother again. He wants to skin that boy alive, damn whoever the hell he is, because how dare he say that to his little, innocent, childish little otouto?!

Ace almost swears that he can even feel Sabo seething in anger somewhere high up in Heaven and agreeing to cause as much pain as humanly possible on that boy who had dared to say that to Portgas D. Ace's and Sabo's younger brother.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.

The next day, a twelve-year-old boy with black, curly hair and cruel eyes is seen walking through the streets of the Foosha Village, a bō staff almost casually balanced on his shoulder. In the time span of three hours, the boy asks three different brown-haired, hazel-eyed boys if they've met a boy just yesterday, only to move away rudely without saying anything once he got a negative answer.

The villagers hope that he won't find the boy he's looking for, for the boy looks quite murderously at any boy with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Sometimes, the villagers are fearing for the boy's life that the twelve-year-old is trying to find.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.

It is two hours later that Ace hits the jackpot.

"Hey, you!"

A boy with brown hair and hazel eyes, the fifth of that day, turns around and raises an eyebrow at him questioningly. "Yeah?"

"Did you meet a little boy yesterday with a straw hat on his head?" Ace demands harshly, glaring.

"Ya mean da freak? Yeah, what 'bout 'im?" the boy answers arrogantly back.

And then Ace is on him in a flash, the anger drawn into every line on his face, punching the boy in the face. He does not stop, even as the mayor tries to pry him off, because he sees Luffy's crying face in his mind's eye and it just _infuriates _him nearly to the point of madness.

When the mayor, along with two other villagers, finally manage to rip him off the boy, Ace is sure that he's broken the boy's nose, and maybe even dislocated his jaw, and sees the boy whimpering and crying on the floor, his eyes swelling up and his face black and blue and full of cuts.

"Don't you _ever_," Ace seethes at the boy, ignoring the mayor as the older man tightens his grip on his arm, glaring harder. "_Ever _again say that my little brother is a freak, or you won't be so lucky next time! And if you ever lay a finger on him, I will skin you alive, I swear!"

The boy hiccups, still sitting pathetically on the floor, and glares at Ace tearfully. "But I'm right! He's a freak o' nature! I'm feelin' sorry for his mother who had t' give birth to him!"

Ace doesn't notice when he somehow gets out of the mayor's grip (which had grown somewhat slack, he thinks later on), doesn't notice how he knocks the boy back, and he doesn't notice how his fist automatically pulls back, punching him again square in the face.

But he does notice the sheer terror in the boy's eyes, and _relishes _it, because he deserves it for hurting his little brother.

"I'll kill you," Ace doesn't shout, he doesn't yell or scream. He only hisses it out, like a snake about to strike, and grabs the boy by his collar, pulling him forwards until they are face to face. "I don't care who you are, I don't care what your business is, I don't care if you hate me, but remember this," Ace jostles him once to emphasize his point. "If you hurt Monkey D. Luffy in any way, the punishment is death, simple as that. I don't care if killing you is against the law of the government, because to my law, killing you because of hurting Luffy is more than acceptable."

Although fearful, the boy still manages to stutter out, "W-what kind of law is that?"

But Ace only grins ferally, leaning closer. "The law of a big brother, of course."

.–.–.–.–.–.–.

That night, Dadan sends him to bed without dinner. Ace doesn't mind, since he knows he's had it coming. He regrets nothing. The boy had to be sent to hospital with a broken nose, dislocated jaw, light concussion, black eyes along with several cuts and bruises. Ace fails to see where the injustice is in all of this, and despite Dadan's yelling at him, she does not say that he shouldn't have done it.

Ace thinks that it was worth it.

He falls asleep with a smile that night.

–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

Later that night, Ace wakes up to the sound of soft footsteps, timid and hesitant. He hears the owner of those feet wait at the side of his bed, silent.

"Ace?" Luffy says hesitantly after a long stretch of silence, and Ace lifts his head to see his little brother's stare intently at him, jutting out his bottom lip. "Can I sleep with you?"

Ace opens his mouth to say no, but only sighs and gives up because they both know that Ace just can't be bothered to do anything about it when it's so early in the morning (when they wake up, now, that's going to be another story). So, he lifts the blanket and stretches out his left arm in a silent invitation.

The smile Luffy gives him is brilliant and alive and grateful.

His little brother snuggles into his chest, and although Ace rolls his eyes he still drops his other arm over his shoulders and has to smile slightly when Luffy sighs contentedly.

Ace waits for his otouto's breath to even out, but it doesn't and he struggles to keep awake until a small, childish "Ace?" jostles him awake.

"Yeah?" Ace says sleepily, yawning widely.

"Did ya really beat that guy up who said that I was a freak?"

Ace looks at Luffy, who refuses to look up from his chest, but Ace only huffs because damn it, he has to keep at least some face. "Pfft, not because of _you_."

But something in his voice must have said something else, because he feels Luffy smile against his chest, and hears the smug undertone in his little brother's voice when he says "Yeah, of course."

"No, I really didn't," Ace says quickly, his cheeks feeling hot and he knows he's blushing, and he's glad that Luffy is not looking up. "He's just a random kid I decided to beat up, you hear? Not because of anything you said—"

"Ace?" Luffy interrupts him, the smugness gone and just genuine interest in his voice.

"What?" Ace grumbles, and he does not pout because he's already twelve and _Ace does not pout, thankyouverymuch! _He's scowling, because scowling is much more adult-like than pouting.

"Thank you," Luffy says gratefully, and Ace blinks confusedly, his brain not really believing what his little, normally ungrateful, insufferable brat of a little brother is saying. "You're like my hero, Ace! Just like Shanks!"

And suddenly, Ace's chest is filled with a fuzzy, warm feeling and Ace embraces it while hugging Luffy tighter, relishing the sound of his little brother giggling delightfully, and smiles quietly to himself.

"Yeah," Ace whispers, and sees his little brother look up from his chest, grinning, and he can't stop himself from grinning back, but scowls quickly afterwards, shoving Luffy's head under his chin. "Now shut up and sleep."

But Luffy only laughs quietly—long used to Ace's grumpy and avoiding nature—and hugs him tighter. Ace does not let go of his brother's head and even strokes it gently, not stopping until he hears Luffy's breath evening out.

Ace falls asleep to Luffy's steady snoring, feeling the slight quirk of his lips against his neck, and thinks that Luffy's worth it, even if he's an idiot.

He is, after all, Luffy's hero and older brother. Somebody _had _to look after that idiot, right?

And so, Ace promises to himself (_and to Sabo_, his mind whispers) that he will protect that smile and that laugh, because despite being a fool and annoying and idiotic, Luffy was still his little brother and as his older brother, he had to look after him.

Of course, it did help that Ace genuinely loved Luffy.

...But only a bit!

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

Author Note:

I think I made Ace slightly OOC here. I tried to keep as much of his grumpy attitude as possible (because Ace had been a rather grumpy and untrusting kid when he'd been younger, as far as I can see), hence the 'but only a bit!' at the end there, because we all know that Ace would probably never admit to it :P Also, for those of you who ask why Ace reacts so violently to that freak comments, it's because he's usually the recipient of such hurtful comments, so he can relate, and he knows how much it hurts. So, when he realizes that Luffy must not be feeling any better, Ace knows that he's really hurt and I believe that any true older brother worth his salt would get angry at that. Especially Ace, because we all know he's a little bit protective... when he's not pissed, that it XD

I'm thinking about maybe writing a second chapter to this. When there's one thing I love, it's older siblings. Seriously, I turn into fangirl mush whenever an older brother is involved. Especially if it's a protective one.

Any suggestions for the (possible!) next chapter are incredibly welcomed and encouraged, because I have no idea what to write next. Feel free, as long as it's not AU. Although, if you really want me to, I can do a separate one-shot of that setting in an AU. I want these one-shots to revolve around the time after Sabo dies and before Ace goes to sea.

I'll try writing a one-shot next with Sabo, Luffy and Ace together, all adults and all pirates _and not fucking dying_!Because I have to, simple as that. Ah well, it will all depend on how many reviews I'll get, 'cause I get a lot more motivated when I get them.

Hope you enjoyed, please review!


	2. Of Storms And Soothing Siblings

**Of Storms And Soothing Siblings**

* * *

Lightening brightens the cold winter night, the rain a soothing undertone in between the relentless booms of thunder, entwining with the vibrations left behind and sounding like strung guitar strings. Shadows and light dance, hop and run over every surface like playing a twisted version of tag.

Usually, Ace sleeps through such storms like it is nothing, despite the fact that thunder storms in Grey Terminal are loud and dangerous and brutal, so Ace isn't sure what it is exactly that wakes him up in the middle of the night.

Ace lies in his bed for a while, wondering, before he hears sniffles and silent sobs come from behind his door. Ace scowls and is ready to jump out of bed should it be a thief or thug, or anything or anybody else that could be a potential danger, when he hears a knock on his door, barely hearing it over the major orchestra of nature.

"Ace?" Ace knows that voice, and he also knows immediately that something is wrong, because the voice says it in a way a child would say _please, please help me_ or _make it all go away_. "_Ace_?"

But Ace is already standing and strides to the door in quick, long steps, because his brother senses are ringing and yelling that something is _wrong_, because Luffy's voice does not crack like that. Luffy may be a crybaby, but Ace admits that he does have enough courage to not cry when something frightens him.

When Ace opens the door, his mind goes blank and all he sees is his little brother; Luffy is hugging his pillow so tightly that his knuckles are white, his otouto's bottom lip is trembling in suppressed terror and his little brother's eyes are panicked and desperate, and Ace feels like his heart will break in two.

"Luffy?" he has to ask, because he isn't sure if this boy standing before him is the same boy who was laughing just a few hours ago.

"C-can I—" Luffy starts, but stops himself because his voice cracks, his eyes getting wetter and wetter as another bolt of light struck outside of the window. "Can I sleep with you, _please_?"

Normally, Ace would slam the door in his little brother's face for asking something so ridiculous (because they are already far to old for that, although a part of Ace disagrees with that), but the plea was so desperate, and Luffy is looking so incredibly vulnerable and young that Ace's heart is aching and screaming at him to _**do**__ something _because his big brother senses are screaming at him that _Luffy_, his little brother, his annoying little brat of a brother, is near tears and practically _begging _him to help him.

But, Ace still has to draw the line despite the want to sooth and calm his otouto because they are both too old and too big to sleep in the same bed anymore, and Ace knows that Luffy knows that (_although a part of his mind is whispering that Luffy must really have no other option if he ignores that fact, but he tries to ignore the guilt burning in his chest_).

Ace is about to say it (_a simple word, t__w__o letters: no_), but the word catches in his throat because Luffy actually _flinches _and Ace decides, _fuck age _and _fuck size_, because Luffy is actually on the brink of _crying _here, and Ace's big brother sensors will not tolerate it any longer and will not live that fact down.

And so Ace scoops his otouto into his arms quickly, turns around and strides across the room to his bed in speedy steps. Luffy wraps his arms and legs tightly around him several times, clinging to his older brother like a lifeline. Ace lifts the duvet with one hand while supporting his brother with the other, and carefully crawls into his bed. It is cramped, but they still manage to fit in there easily enough, and Ace tries to calm Luffy down while he tucks them both in with a restricted arm.

Luffy's shoulders heave in suppressed sobs and Ace hears several sniffles in his ear while stroking his little brother's hair, unconsciously making shushing noises like the ones he used to make whenever Luffy woke up from a nightmare before.

Ace notices the way Luffy jumps at every explosion of thunder, notices the way he flinches when there is suddenly a flash of light and notices how despite the death grip Luffy has on him, he is trembling in terror and Ace feels guilty for not doing this immediately after opening the door and knows it is because of his ego, and it only worsens the guilt eating his stomach like acid.

When Luffy isn't trembling as much anymore, Ace asks quietly, "A nightmare?"

Luffy shakes his head. _No_.

Ace makes another shushing noise after another boom of thunder makes Luffy jump in surprise again. "Scared?"

Luffy hesitates, presumably thinking about it, but only shrugs uncertainly with quivering shoulders. _I don't know_.

Ace frowns in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing together, rubbing his little brother's back soothingly after he flinches from a flash of light. "So you didn't have a nightmare, and you're not scared. Why are you here, then?"

Ace curses himself a moment later when he feels his little brother's bottom lip start trembling, and he thinks he should have worded that phrase better. "I didn't mean it in a mean way, Luffy! I don't mind if you're with me, honest! I just want to know what's wrong so that I can fix it!"

And Ace feels like the shittiest older brother in the world a moment later when he feels Luffy suck in his lips against his shoulder, obviously trying to fight back the tears. He holds him closer, guilt eating him up inside, and strokes his head. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I really am, so please don't cry. Please?"

Ace breathes out a sigh of relief a moment later when he feels he feels Luffy uncoil his lips and smiles slightly, although he still feels the slight trembling and his smile morphs into frown when Luffy flinches again. "So, if it isn't a nightmare that brought your here, and if your not scared, what's the reason to as to why you came here?"

He waits patiently, and when Luffy speaks, his little brother's voice is soft and small and child-like. "Gramps abandoned me in the jungle sometimes."

Ace does not ask, just strokes the back of his otouto's head gently and listens.

"One time he abandoned me when I was four and there was a storm, just like this one," Luffy continues softly, stopping for a moment to flinch because of the lightening outside. "And I got lost and I didn't know where I was going, and I was _alone _and I didn't know what to do and—" Luffy breaks off to sniffle once.

"And?" Ace prompts gently; his tone is soft and his hands are steady, but inside he is boiling in fury. Never mind that Garp is three times taller than him and forget the fact that the man probably weighs five times as much as he himself does, Ace _will make him pay!_

"And I thought I was going to die, because loads of trees were falling down and I couldn't see anything and I had no shelter and I was so scared, Ace!" Luffy sniffles a few more times before Ace can feel him shifting, shaking his head against Ace's shoulder to wipe away the tears out of the corners of his eyes. "I bet you think I'm a scaredy-cat, right, Ace?"

"No, I don't think you're a scaredy-cat," Ace replies honestly, but then grins to himself in mischief. "But I'm glad that it got into your thick skull that storms like this are dangerous."

It isn't much, but the familiarity of the insult makes Luffy laugh quietly and Ace has to smile because seeing his little brother happy was much better than seeing him on the brink of tears. But he frowns again when he remembers who is responsible for this, and swears that the next time he will see Garp, that man _will_ feel pain.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

The next day, when Dadan is walking down the corridor to the kitchen, she notices that there is a lack of noise from Luffy's room. Quietly opening it, she glances around the room—two shirts on the floor, a little bunk bed in the corner of the room with the duvet on the floor, a small oil lamp on the bed side table along with Luffy's straw hat, a bō staff leaning against the wall next to the doorway—but she does not see Luffy anywhere. She feels somewhat concerned, but reassures herself with the fact that Luffy knows how to look after himself when it comes down to it.

So, Dadan keeps walking without worrying about it too much, when she hears Luffy's snoring coming from Ace's room. She grins (_this is perfect blackmail material!_) and tries to open the door as silently as possible. She glances around the room—some books on a desk, three bō staffs leaning against the closet (two broken), a small rug on the floor, a orange hat hanging off the door handle—and sees almost immediately the two boys sleeping peacefully in bed.

Luffy's head is on Ace's right shoulder, while the rest of Ace's arm is thrown over the ten-year-old's thin back, his hand resting on his little brother's head, Luffy's arms are hugging Ace around the chest while their legs are a mass of entangled limbs. Luffy's face is peaceful and innocent, as if he was always meant to sleep there, his lips tilted upwards in content. And Ace's face, usually so guarded, cold and dismissive, is open and love, affection and protectiveness seems to be drawn into every single line of his face, a certain maturity shining through despite the childish freckles on his face.

And Dadan, despite being a bandit and a tough woman, can't help cooing at the sight. She decides that, for this once, she won't say anything because she knows that despite their strong love for each other, their relationship is also very fragile. And with that, Dadan only smiles silently to herself and gently closes the door again.

She continues walking down the corridor towards the kitchen and does not look back.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.

Seventeen days later, Garp comes to visit his two grandchildren.

It is the usual routine; there is Luffy laughing, Ace being grumpy and Garp being abusive. Everything is normal and everything is going on just like any other time when Garp comes to visit them.

There is one story after the other about Garp's time in the Marines, several of them involving pirates, and although neither of them want to be in the Marine like Garp has been, they listen because although their grandfather may be abusive sometimes, they still miss him at times and they do love hearing about pirates (not to mention about learning how to escape Marines, not that Garp realizes that).

But Luffy falls asleep with his head on Ace's thigh in the middle of the story of Kai the Faceless, because it is a sunny day and the wind near the cliff was warm today, and they have just eaten and everything was just perfect for an afternoon nap. And Luffy does, cocooned in the warmth of his love for two of his most important people, and he snores lightly with a smile on his face.

Everything is peaceful at first—Ace even stroking his otouto's hair (a rarity usually only deserved for indoors when they were alone)—and Garp sighs contentedly, happy and calm, and he wishes that everywhere it could be this peaceful.

But then, Ace looks at him, glaring, and says brusquely, "Garp,"

And Garp jostles out of his lulled state, looking at his grandson carefully. Ace does not stop in stroking his otouto's hair, but his eyes are fiery and hard, and they remind Garp of burning forests and blistering skins. "Yes?"

"Did you abandon Luffy in the jungle once while a storm was going on?" Ace doesn't really ask, he is demanding it. Garp feels something in his chest—_Regret? Guilt? Sadness? Sorrow?_—because the anger, the determination, the fierce _love _in the boys eyes reminds him of wide smiles and booming laughs, and Garp feels nostalgic all of a sudden.

But Garp has been in the Marine for several years, and he knows how to push those emotions and memories away with nothing more than a small flicker in his eyes.

"Yeah. What about it?" he replies back boringly. Ace bristles in front of him and his hand stops caressing Luffy's head, too, at his apathetic answer.

"You left a goddamn four year old into a goddamn jungle while a goddamn storm was brewing?!" Ace doesn't yell or shout or scream, although Garp can see that he wants to because it's written in every single line on his face, because Luffy is there and his little brother is sleeping. "I thought you had more sense then that, baka!"

"Well, Luffy needs to toughen up if he wants to be in the Marine," Garp answers back, and thinks it will make Ace understand.

However, Garp realizes his mistake quite soon, because Ace's glare turns murderous and he's baring his teeth warning, like a wild mother bear about to defend her cub. Garp has seen more mother bears in his lifetime than he'd like—especially infuriated ones—and knows that Ace will hurt him in some sort of way or form as a kind of retribution for what he has done to Luffy by leaving him like that in the woods.

Garp does not regret doing it, he never will, because he knows he's instilled fear into Luffy, and fear is good way of encouraging self-preservation which Luffy does not have. Ace knows this, but it doesn't keep his brother sensors from going wild and screaming for his grandfather's blood because _he hurt Luffy, goddamit!_

"_Your toughening __**sucks**__, then!_" Ace hisses through clenched teeth, one of his hands clenching into his pants. "And Luffy doesn't even want to be _in_ the Marines! Get that through your thick skull, you ancient fossil idiot!"

Garp's eyebrow twitches in annoyance, and his cheeks redden (_neither of them are sure if it's because of embarrassment or anger_). "WHAT?! Why you little—!"

"Ace?" a small voice interrupts, and Garp sees Luffy look up at his older brother, his right fist rubs at his eye and he yawns widely.

Ace looks down at Luffy, and smiles in a brotherly way at him (his brother sensors still haven't quite come down yet, and probably won't for another good while) before he starts to gently stroke his brother's hair again, his fingers going in between the dark strands of hair. "Yes?"

"Why is Gramps shouting?" Luffy says sleepily, and looks briefly at Garp before looking into his brother's eyes again.

Garp already opens his mouth to say something, but a stone connects with his skull before he can bring even a sound out. He doesn't yelp, but he fumes because despite the fact that Ace's just hit his grandfather with a stone, his other hand is still steadily stroking his otouto's hair while and his smile never wavers. He does, however, see Ace's eyes harden, and decides to say nothing for the moment. "Nothing, Luffy. He's just being the same old gramps he always is, okay? Go back to sleep."

"M'kay," Luffy consents, sighing before a few seconds later, the same quiet snores from before continued.

"Garp," Ace says it seriously, a dark promise of pain and suffering underneath the casual tone that makes Garp's neck hairs rise uneasily. Ace looks up from his little brother's peaceful face, and looks at his grandfather seriously, his eyes cold and calculating. And Garp remembers a man he's known over thirteen years ago, dead, who has had the same fire in his eyes, the same will to protect everything he loves, the same will to destroy anything that could be dangerous to those he loves, and he feels nostalgic again. "I don't care if you're my grandfather and I don't care if the Marines go after me for this, but if you something like this to Luffy _ever _again, I will murder you. Your position in the Marines and your relation to me be damned, got it? I don't care if it is to toughen him up or to give him training. If he ever comes nearly-crying to me ever again because of something you did... it won't be pretty, _Garp_."

And Garp nods seriously, almost sighing in relief when Ace smiles at him and his eyes warm up again. Garp knows this isn't the end of it. Ace is an intelligent child when he isn't overruled by emotions, and that boy knows that, in his current state, he won't be able to do much damage. And so Ace will wait, because Garp knows that his grandson wants to cause him as much pain as possible for hurting his little brother.

Garp inwardly groans and swears that he can hear Gol D. Roger's proud laugh in the back of his head, and curses him for giving him such a troubling grandson.

But when Garp sees the loving look in Ace's eyes when he looks at Luffy, he isn't sure if he shouldn't curse his own son rather than Roger.

In the end, Garp decides to curse both of them.

The old man sighs quietly to himself and wishes for a bottle of spirit, looking at the sky. He listens, and notices that there are two pairs of snores, and he looks up to see Ace hunched over, asleep and smiling, and Garp sees all the brotherly love and adoration in every line of the boy's face—oddly unguarded compared to his normally cold nature—and Garp can't help his lips curling upwards.

And Garp decides that despite the fact that they are a pain, he still loves his grandchildren unconditionally.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

When Makino goes towards the cliff to see after Garp, she is not quite sure what to expect. She imagines a lot of possible ways she could be finding them—strangling each other, fighting each other, Ace and Garp trying to save Luffy from falling off the cliff—but she does not expect _this_.

Garp is spread all over the grass, arms and legs stretched out and a giant bubble coming from his nose, next to his two grandchildren. Ace is lying on his side, facing his grandfather, while Luffy lies behind him so that they are sleeping back-to-back, their hands goined loosely in between them.

Makino smiles secretly to herself and giggles lightly before she walks back to the village.

The image stays in her head and leaves her smiling all day long.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

Author Note:

First of all: **YOU GUYS ROCK!**

The morning after I posted the first chapter, six hours later, I checked my e-mail and hoped that one or two people had maybe put this as a Favorite, possibly a Follower. I didn't hope too much for a review, but I did still anticipated it.

I had 27 emails in my In Box. Around 24-26 of those emails were about my story the D Brothers; I had 9 Story Followers, 10 Story Favorites, 7 Reviews, and the rest being Followers for my account and people putting me as their favorite.

I got so much encouragement through your support that I was itching to write another chapter, and so I did! You can't imagine how your support has brought me through a tiresome week with a smile constantly on my face. And since then, a few people have further encouraged me when they favorited/followed me or my story.

So, **please read: **Thank you to all of you people reading, reviewing, favoring and following me and/or my story! It's through your support and encouragement that I managed to write this, so I'm very grateful for it.

Please continue reviewing, reading, favoring and following my story, because any of these things make me write more :) **Suggestions are always welcome!**

Thank you for reading, please review!

PS: Luffy is ten, which means that Ace is thirteen, just to clarify that :)


	3. What A Protective Pair Of Brothers

**What Protective Pair Of Brothers**

* * *

It shouldn't bother him anymore.

(_"Have you heard of the rumor that Gold Roger has a son!?" C__ruel whispers and hushes voices._

_They follow his __every step__._)

It's nothing new. He's used to it.

(_"Yeah. __H__ear dat da whole marine's lookin' for 'im, too! Hope dat they'll lynch 'im when they find 'im!" __Bloodthirsty exclamations and hateful spite._

_They terrorize him in his sleep._)

He should know better than to cry over it. He _knows _crying won't make it better, knows that it won't stop the world from hating him.

(_"I hope they'll find him soon. As Roger's son, he must be a good-for-nothing like his father!" Untrue presumptions and painful accusations._

_They leave him breathless in sorrow and sadness._)

"Heard that it's been confirmed dat Gold Roger had a son? For real dis time, not jus' a rumor" a man whispers from outside of the alleyway, and Ace clenches his teeth, his anger bubbling to the surface.

"For real?! Not jus' a rumor?" another man, younger this time, whispers back excitedly.

"Nuh-uh! Heard it with ma own ears, I tell ya!" the older man whispers, enjoying being able to talk to somebody, because Grey Terminal is a very lonely place at times. "But no one knows what he looks like, or what he's called."

The younger man laughs cruelly. "Hope they'll find 'im soon. That son-of-a-bitch deserves to die! Shouldn't even be allowed t' live, I tell ya!"

Ace feels his eyes burn, but keeps them back and instead starts to stand up to beat those two men into the dirt. However, a small voice just a few steps to the left of him outside of the alley are faster than him, and Ace and the two older men turn to a eight-year-old boy with his little pudgy hands on his hips defiantly.

"That's a really mean thing to say, you meanies!" Luffy says childishly, pouting, his black eyebrows furrowing together in a comical fashion. "And it's Gol _D._ Rodger, not Gold Roger! Don't say that he was a bad man, 'cause I'm gonna be the next Pirate King, and I ain't bad!"

Luffy's reasons are twisted and childish and unreasonable, and have no logic _whatsoever_ behind it, but Ace is speechless nonetheless. Luffy, his little brother who follows him around and who is a crybaby, is standing up to two grown men and declares his dream, his ambition, so socially unaccepted, for all the world to hear.

It is somewhat inspiring, Ace thinks.

"What does a little squirt like you know 'bout 'em pirates?" the older man grumbles, glaring. "Pirates're brutal criminals who are an' always gonna be criminals."

"Uh-huh!" the younger man agrees, his hollow face bobbing up and down in fierce agreement. "They kill people an' rape 'em an'-an' _torture _'em an' steal from 'em! They're bad people! They're the worst!"

Ace feels like he should punch them, but he does not move because there is a fire burning in Luffy's eyes that mesmerizes him in a way. He does not know that he's holding his breath in anticipation.

Luffy puffs out his cheeks in defiance, which makes his pudgy face seem rounder and even more childish. "Not all pirates are like that! There are good ones, too!" Luffy tries to glare, and although it seems comical on an eight-year-old's face, it brings Luffy's point across (_a person can't be __Monkey D.__ Garp's son and not know how to glare properly_). "I won't let you talk like that about the good pirates!"

The older man glares back, his dark eyes murky and dark, and Ace realizes that the man is probably drunk. "You're really startin' t' annoy me, yer brat."

"I'm not a brat!" Luffy shrieks back childishly.

The younger man glances nervously between his otouto and the older man. "Um, how 'bout if y'all come down for a sec, 'kay? This ain't nothin' to get angry over, right?"

"'Course it is!" the older man yells back, and it makes his little brother and the younger man jump in surprise. "The fire jus' a while ago was 'cause of pirates, and this kid has the nerve t' say they're not evil?!"

"W-well, I guess..." the younger man says uncertainly, hesitating. "We ain't got a clue why they done it, so we ain't got da right t' judge 'bout it."

"_Bullshit!_" the older man hollers back, his cheeks red from the lack of air. "I lost ma wife in dat fire! I lost ma house! I lost all ma stuff, all ma money! And dat little brat over dere is tryin' t' say that pirates ain't evil?! I have got _nothin'_! Pirates are evil, and dat's dat!"

The younger man looks stricken for a moment, his eyes hurt and pained as if remembering something, before bares his teeth and his eyebrows come together in anger. "Ya know, if yer sayin' it like dat, I can see where yer comin' from. That little brat ain't got any right t' talk 'bout pirates if he don't know what they can an' can't do."

"We should show 'im what pirates can do," the older man says sadistically, and it makes Ace's neck hairs stand on end and it leaves his brother sensors ringing in alarm.

And suddenly, Ace remembers that his otouto is still there, and his head turns so fast around that he hears something crack in his neck. His otouto does not look frightened, but he looks weary, and Ace can see that his little brother does not know why. It doesn't surprise him anymore, because although Luffy has very bad observational skills, he has instinct; he's just too stupid to know what his instincts are telling him.

Ace sees his little brother tense as the men advance, and Ace's eyes widen when he sees the older man pull out a knife from his belt while the younger man gracefully swoops down to grab a pipe on the floor without breaking his stride. His head snaps back to his otouto, but Luffy only widens his stance and glares harder, and Ace's brother senses are yelling at him to _bring Luffy __**the fuck**__ away from there!_

"I think dat's a real good idea," says the younger man, grinning manically and casually smacks the pipe into his other palm. "We should show 'im that he ain't got no right to talk about pirates if he ain't got any idea."

"An' we should punish him for wantin' to be 'Pirate King'," the older man spits the two words out like a curse, his eyes shining in hatred. "He probably ain't no better than Gold Roger and his son."

Ace knows he should feel angry at the insinuated insult, but it is hard when he sees his brother practically fly into the two men, punching both of them in the face as he did so, and Ace is screaming at his body _to MOVE, _because he knows this won't end well, but his body doesn't move and Ace continues screaming, screaming and screaming at it because _oh my God, LUFFY!_

"DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT GOL D. ROGER AND HIS SON!" his otouto screams furiously, but Ace barely hears it because his head is this screaming at him, _**MOVE!**_

"Son of a—!" the younger man slams his pipe into the back Luffy's head, twisting around and skidding backwards, while the older man takes the knife and stabs Luffy in the stomach.

Time seems to slow down, and all color seems to fade away like rainwater draining into the gutter. Ace looks on helplessly as his little brother coughs out blood, and watches horror-stuck as the man rips out the knife with a sadistic grin.

Sound is nonexistent as his otouto's small body drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes and Ace's mind and brother senses are screaming, _oh God, please __**no**__! _And Ace runs over and thinks of Sabo and his promise to him and of that night with the fire, and Luffy being in danger and hurt and _nonononononopleasedon'tletthisbehappening!_

It is slow motion where Ace sees the knife coming down, with droplets flying behind it (_**Luffy's blood**__! _Ace's brother senses scream at him), and Ace feels like a blur when he yanks his little brother off the floor, hefting him into his arms and running another short distance, away from the two men.

Ace is sure he is hyperventilating, but he isn't sure because he can't hear anything beyond his heartbeat pulsating in his ears like drums every second, and he doesn't care either because he is not important right now but _Luffy is_.

Ace dares himself to look at his little brother, and feels the little blood in his cheeks drain away completely at the paleness of Luffy's face. Luffy's eyes are unfocused and it takes his little brother a few minutes before he can focus onto his eyes.

"Ace?" he still hears his little brother's voice despite the drumming in his ears, and it sound so _wrong_, because it's pained and strained and _quiet_. His head is swimming and he feels like he's going to vomit from the horror of it all but doesn't because _Luffy is more important right now_. "...Ace? Ace, are you... alright? Ace?"

_You ask me if **I **am fine?! _Ace wants to shriek at his idiotic little brother. _You're bleeding all over my clothes and you're hurt and you ask me if**I **am fine?! OF COURSE I'M NOT FINE! What about you?! TAKE FUCKING BETTER CARE OF YOURSELF, YOU **IDIOT**! Sabo would **kill **me for this! Hell, **I **am going to kill myself for this, you stupidstupid**stupid** little brother!_

But he doesn't, because his brother senses are screaming at him (_don't you **dare **say anything that could hurt his_ _feelings!_) and Luffy can't even speak properly because of the pain, so Ace just says quietly, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Something must be showing in his face that contradicts what he is saying, because Luffy looks very doubtful and Ace can't blame him because it feels like all his blood is flowing everywhere but his face. His otouto opens his mouth to say something but coughs out blood again before he can.

Ace feels the blood on his face, each and every single droplet, and suddenly, he is so overwhelmed with pure and hot _fury _that his mind becomes blank and all he can see is the blood on his little brother's chin and feels an overtaking want to _destroy_ whoever had done this.

"—ey, HEY! YOU BRAT! What do ya think yer doin', ya punk?!" the voice of the older man slowly seeps into his ears, and Ace feels all of his feelings of anger and destruction being cooled over by an intense feeling of resentment and hate, and knows that those men will not get away with what they have done. "We ain't finished with dat brat yet, ye hear?! We gotta punish 'im for wantin' t' be a pirate! Save the Marine the trouble and kill the pirate-wannabe!"

Ace puts Luffy onto the ground gently, ripping off the hem of his shirt and trying it around the gushing hole on Luffy's stomach, feeling oddly calm. Ace knots together the two ends and says quietly, without looking back, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"What ya say?!" the younger man says brusquely, and Ace can feel the glare on him. "I can't hear ya, yer not talkin' loud enough!"

Ace looks at his otouto, taking in the form of his face, the determination in his eyes and the paleness of his cheeks, a smiles softly at his little brother. "Don't worry Luffy, I'll get you to Dadan in no time. Go to sleep, okay? You're not going to die, alright? I'm going to make sure that you're going to be fine, so don't worry about anything. Go to sleep."

Ace can see that his little brother wants to disagree, badly, but Luffy looses the fight against consciousness and only manages to nod once. Ace waits for only three seconds before half-snores, half-moans of pain start.

He stands up, casually brushing the dust off his knees before turning around. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he repeats his earlier statement, louder this time, leaving his face carefully blank and hides his eyes underneath the shadows of his hair.

The two men laugh cruelly, as if his statement was the most ridiculous thing in the world. The older man giggles drunkenly a few seconds longer, before he mock-imitates Ace's voice, "'I wouldn't do dat if I were you,' he says! What an idiot!"

They laugh again before the younger man looks at Ace down his pointy nose, smiling sadistically. "An' why shouldn't we do dat?"

"Because," Ace looks up, and his glare is vicious and is promising pain far beyond the point of sanity. "If you would do that, I would torture both of you until you would be screaming for the Devil to help you."

The younger man takes a step back in fear, but the older man only smiles lopsidedly, oblivious to the rising tension in the air. "Is dat so? Well, I don't care no more 'bout ma life anyway. This is already Hell for me, so there ain't a difference for me if I ask the Devil for help."

"Oh?" Ace smirks cruelly, his hatred, resentment and fury bubbling to the surface. The older man loses his grin and narrows his eyes at him, adjusting his hold on his knife in his hand. "That's good, because I plan to send you to Hell anyway. I dearly hope for you that Hell is a better place than here, because you won't even have a chance to regret that you hurt Luffy."

And Ace is on the older man in a flash, knocking him to the ground and ripping the knife out of the man's hand. He grabs the man's hands and holds them above his head, palms up, and rams the knife into them. He relishes the pained scream and grins, satisfied with himself, before twisting out of the way to avoid the younger man's attack with the pipe.

Ace grabs the pipe and heaves himself above the other man's head, the blow of the pipe landing on the older man's stomach instead of him, and Ace supports himself on one arm on the younger man's left shoulder. Ace slams the side of his other hand into the back of the man's neck, flipping over his head and landing in a graceful crouch, eyes closed, as the younger man's body goes slack.

Ace opens his eyes, and hears the thump of the younger man's body hitting the ground, before in his peripheral vision he sees shards of glass. Ace smirks to himself, his mind coming up with various different ideas.

He strides over to the glass shards, and his eyes sweep over them, dropping down into a crouch again and taking the sharpest one. He turns the glass shard, looking at it at all angles, before bringing his other hand up and cutting one of his fingers. The skin immediately opens and spills out blood, and Ace nods to himself, satisfied, and stands before turning around quickly and striding back to the older man.

The older man is wiggling and is trying to heave himself off the floor, clenching his teeth to keep quiet. Ace flips the glass shard in his hand casually, and whistles to himself, and has to smirk at the older man's horrified look.

Ace squats down next to the man, smiling calmly at him, before he shows him the shard, glistering in between his finger tips. "I should kill you for hurting Luffy, I really should. I wouldn't have a problem with it, either. I really, really want to torture you right now and make you feel so much pain that you can't even scream anymore because the pain is overwhelming you. I really want to. Unfortunately, I have little time and you are damn lucky that I am not going to kill your pathetic ass because Luffy needs medical attention. It's the only reason why you are going to live a few more years, understood?"

He rams the glass shard into the man's stomach, right in the place where Luffy's wound is, and twists it around once. The man screams but still manages to nod, tears shamelessly rolling down his face, and Ace looks at him in disgust before spitting him in the face. He stands up, brushing off nonexistent dust from his trousers, and glares at the man one last time before smirking down at him cruelly. "My little brother would be disappointed in me if I would kill you, and you're lucky that his opinion is the only one I care about, got it? So I can't kill you."

Ace waits as the man sighs and sags in relief before he smiles calmly at him again. "That doesn't mean that I can't abandon you here and leave you to rot, though. So, have a good night, _sir_."

Ace starts walking immediately, his steps large and quick. He scoops up his little brother carefully, noting how bloody the make-shift bandage is, and continues walking, faster than before. Luffy's head is moving around and Ace hears the half-pants, half-moans of his brother like his own, repid heartbeat that feels like it's going to explode from his chest in panic.

"H-hey! Ya can't let me here! I swear I won't do it again, I promise! Hey, come back, please! PLEASE! I'm gonna die if ya leave me here! Boy! BOY!" Ace hears the man yell behind him, and he stops for a moment, looking over his shoulder. The man's face brightens with hope before it crumbles again at seeing Ace's cruel smirk again.

"The name's Portgas D. Ace," he says calmly, holding his little brother tighter because he is losing time means being a step closer to losing Luffy and _that is unacceptable._"I'm the older brother of Monkey D. Luffy. Whoever hurts my little brother in any sort or way will have to deal with me, got it? I don't care who the Hell you are, but if you hurt Luffy, no God, angel, human, demon or whatever will be able to help you."

Ace turns around again and starts running, ignoring the desperate pleas from the man behind him. He focuses more on the pale face of his little brother and listens to the weak breathing because he knows he will never forgive himself should his little brother die.

Ace never regrets leaving that man there.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

Luffy sleeps for three days straight, breathing shallow and not waking up once, not even half-opening his eyes. Ace sometimes hears Dadan discuss his otouto's condition with her bandit members when they think he isn't listening.

Luffy is starting to develop a fever, and although Ace is not a doctor, he knows that three days without food or any real amount of water is bad. He hears Dadan say that night that, should his condition get worse over the next two days, they will have to bring him to the Foosha Village. There are no real doctors around, only herbalists with some medicinal knowledge that does not really go beyond salves and medication because of the diversity of plants on the island; but usually there are no wounds like this in a peaceful village like that, and Ace doubts that they can actually do anything. Ace worries for his little brother.

Ace is scared for his little brother.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

It takes a week for Luffy to wake up.

It's his third day in the Foosha Village when Luffy opens his eyes. Ace swears that he's never been any more relieved in his life than at that exact moment. The doctor—who has been constantly nagging and reprimanding him for ignoring what she says because he won't leave his otouto's side even if it killed him—ushers him out far more efficiently and quickly than Ace remembers, but that could be because he does not care about anything beyond the fact that Luffy is going to be fine now.

"...Ace?"

And Ace immediately whirls around—the doctor doesn't even have a chance to react—and sprints to his little brother'sside. He sees a pudgy hand reach out in child-like desperation (_don't go, stay here, I'm alone please give me company, come here_, his otouto's gesture speaks volumes) and Ace immediately grabs it and squeezes it briefly (_I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying, you're not alone, I'm here, _he hopes that his gesture speaks just as much), falling to his knees (_because the relief is getting too much_).

"Are you okay, Luffy?" Ace asks because it has been seven days silence under the low timbre of weak pants and pained moans from his otouto, and his brother senses are screaming and shouting in concern. "Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine," Luffy says quietly, his eyes dropping. He yawns one time before he brings up his other hand to rub at his eyes. Then, his eyes widen comically and the idiot tries to sit up frantically.

"OW!"

"IDIOT! Don't do that!" Ace screams (_screeches, his mind snickers, but Ace mercilessly squishes that thought down_), jumping to his feet in a flash. "You're not healed yet!"

Luffy's expression is almost bewildered when he looks at the bandages around his stomach, and his otouto blinks a few more times, tilting his head in confusion, before he grins foolishly and laughs loudly. "Huh. Can't remember it hurting this much, ha ha."

Ace isn't sure what it is that makes him so angry: the fact that Luffy has no self-preservation or the fact that Luffy got hurt because of—

Him.

_Him_, Ace. Luffy's older brother who gets angry whenever somebody says anything insulting towards his father. Him, a person Luffy loves and cares for and who he doesn't want to get hurt.

Him, the person who gets upset whenever they talk about his father, who feels hurt by it.

Luffy got hurt because of him. Because Luffy wanted to protect him.

_Him_.

"...Ace?" Luffy says worriedly, reaching out with his other hand to touch his face, ignoring the pain in his other one because of how hard Ace is squeezing it. "Ace? Are you alright? Ace? _Ace_?"

There is a plea in that last word. Panic. Worry. Ace's heart squeezes and he doesn't have time to wonder why because the room is spinning and blurring out of sight, and all he can see is Luffy's concerned eyes and all that goes through his head is _it's his fault. Him._

_HIMSELF!_

_"Gold Roger's son is probably like his father: he will only bring trouble!"_

_THEY WERE **RIGHT**!_

"Luffy," he whispers, gripping his otouto's hand tighter. "Why did you attack those guys?"

Luffy looks at him for a moment, and Ace isn't sure what his otouto sees because Luffy smiles at him so widely that his eyes close. Somehow, it looks sad. "Because they were insulting you, Ace."

"But that's my problem, not yours!" Ace's patience is short and he honestly feels like crying, but he doesn't because he is a man and men don't cry. "Don't put yourself in danger because of me!"

Suddenly, the smile is gone and Ace is left breathless with the intensity in his brothers eyes staring into his own. The pale face is open and despite the round face, Luffy looks so _old_. "They were insulting Ace and they said you are mean." Luffy keep the eye contact and Ace lets out a shaky breath. "But you're _you_ Ace, and I know nii-chan isn't mean, and I know Roger wasn't, either."

"How do you know that he wasn't evil, that he wasn't a criminal?!" Ace screams at him, and it's not because his eyes are moist because _they are not_!

But Luffy only grins widely, his eyes closing again from the wideness of it. "Because Ace isn't evil. Ace is the best nii-chan in the whole world, even if you hit me and make fun of me."

_No, they weren't right._

_They never were, they never will be._

Ace's eyes are wide and he couldn't have stopped that tear from rolling down even if he wanted to, or the next one, or the one after that; so, he just lowers his head onto their joined hands and starts to cry silently, his shoulders heaving and shuddering in barely-repressed sobs, and bites his lips so hard until he bleeds so that he doesn't wail, but it's for nothing because his breaths shudder and rattle in his ribcage whenever he takes in a breath of air.

"Ace?" his otouto asks again, and Ace hears the worry in there, for him, and he bites his lip harder, because Luffy is upset because he is upset; he shouldn't be upset—it doesn't suit him (or maybe it's just him thinking that). "Ace?"

"Don't—" Ace chokes on his own words because _there is so much to suppress and so much gratitude and too many words to say,_ and he takes a deep breath before he dares himself to talk again. "Please, don't say anything. Just—just for a minute, okay? I'm fine, really."

He knows that Luffy isn't convinced and he doesn't blame him, either, because he is whispering and he knows that Luffy can probably feel the teardrops landing on his hand; but his otouto doesn't say anything anymore and he is grateful for that, because he isn't sure what he would say at this point.

Ace continues to cry and he doesn't stop until late into the night.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

When Doctor Hayashi enters her patient's room again—she left it after Ace-kun started asking about his brother's health (because she knew she couldn't bring him away even if she tried with all her might)—it's close to midnight and she is ready to go home.

She silently opens the white door, flipping through the papers on her clipping board, and adjusts the glasses on her nose. She is already opening her mouth to (pointlessly) tell Ace-kun that he should go, when she looks up and sees the sight in front of her. She pauses, closes her mouth and smiles.

Ace-kun—the boy who will glare at her whenever his brother moaned in pain when she changed his bandages, who refuses to go home even when she screams, punches or hits him, who will refuse to eat when his brother is panting in pain—is lying in the hospital bed with his little brother, his left arm thrown over his otouto's hips, the other one clinging onto the boy's left leg, while her patient Luff-kun is hugging Ace-kun's head to his chest. Ace-kun's face looks painfully young with the freckles in his face and his expression so open for the world to see, while Luffy-kun is drooling in his sleep, looking peaceful and content.

They look so protective of each other.

Doctor Hayashi moves silently towards the bed, already taking the white sheets to tuck the two brothers in, when she notices the wet droplets on Ace-kun's eyelashes, making him seem even younger than he already is. She wonders what caused the cold boy to cry, but she rolls her eyes at herself for even wondering, because the answer is clear to her.

When she's tucked them in, she turns the light off and closes the door, hugging her clipping board, and smiles to herself again. Just this once, she would let Ace-kun stay here without making a fuss (he got his way in the end anyway, so it was pointless either way), but only because she does not have the heart to separate them today.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

The next day, Doctor Hayashi is rudely woken up by somebody shaking her. She blearily opens her eyes and sits up, adjusting her glasses. When the world comes into focus again, the bane of her existence is standing there with his hands on his hips, glaring at her. She smiles amusingly—the image of him clinging to his otouto coming to her mind—and casually leans her head into her palm, mostly to annoy the boy Ace-kun because she knows that he's going to be a horror to deal with again; it was early payback.

"Yes?"

His eyes flicker to a door—ah, not just any door, she notices, but the door to her patient's room, Luffy-kun—before straightening and looking at her in the eye with the superior air he had around him. She only tilted her head in response, further leaning it into her palm.

Ace grunts in displeasure. "I need food."

Doctor Hayashi only lifts and elegant eyebrow in response.

But then, Ace-kun blushes a bit and bares his teeth at her, daring her to comment on it. "Luffy's going to wake up soon, and he's going to be hungry because he is a bottomless pit; so, I need food."

After blinking a few times—because seeing the normally cold and glaring boy blush is something she never expected to happen—she genuinely smiles, but remains seated and looks on as Ace-kun gets redder and redder with each passing second.

"WELL?!" he finally shouts at her, red with embarrassment and anger. "Why aren't you moving?!"

She tsk-tsks disapprovingly, her smile turning smug. "Didn't your parents teach you any manners? When you are asking for a favour, you're supposed to say a certain, special word, you know?"

Doctor Hayashi fights down the laugh when she sees Ace-kun's blush deepen even further, and cocks an eyebrow in a silent challenge. They both know that he himself could easily catch something to eat, it is just that he doesn't want to leave his brother's side although she knows he will never admit it. They also both know that she will get her way in the end, because Ace-kun here is the one with the disadvantage, he is just being stubborn and she wonders how long it will take until his love for his brother will beat his pride.

She doesn't wait as long as she'd thought she would.

"I need food, please." Ace-kun mumbles, glaring at her darkly.

She scoffs. "Well, that wasn't sincere _at all_. You should practice that—"

"SHUT UP AND TAKE WHAT YOU GET, YOU HAG!" Ace-kun yells at her, a fist coming up in warning. "I'M WORKING ON IT ALREADY, SO JUST GET THE DAMN FOOD!"

Doctor Hayashi scowls fiercely, a vein popping on her forehead. How _dare _he! "If you talk to people like that they're even less likely to do what you say, you brat!"

The doctor sees how Ace-kun's lip thins into a grim line, before he slams his heels together like a Marine and locks his hands behind his back, bowing forward slightly. The sight makes her eyes widen in surprise and she is speechless.

"Please give me food so that my little brother can eat, Doctor Hayashi-san."

Doctor Hayashi thinks that her jaw is hitting the floor, but she isn't entirely sure because she is a little overwhelmed by it all. Ace-kun is a cold, distanced and introverted boy, and she found out just minutes after knowing him that he _never _says the words 'thank you' or 'please' without having a very good reason to, his pride and stubbornness not allowing it. She briefly wonders what could make a boy like Ace-kun bow his head to somebody, but rolls her eyes at herself for even wondering.

She knows that he will do anything for his otouto, really, even if it doesn't seem like it at times.

And so, she smiles and stands up, ruffling his hair as she passes him, and gathers together the food for Luffy-kun.

She puts in a lot more meat at the request of Ace-kun.

Because Luffy like meat a lot, he said.

It keeps her smiling for the rest of the morning.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

Author Note:

Phew, this took a while! I'm sorry that this started out so angst-y and then turned to somewhat-cute to dramatic to cute-ish. I'm not too sure about this chapter since it isn't like the other two and because it revolves more around the fact what both brothers would do for each other. Besides, I wanted a scene where Luffy stands up for Ace, although I'm sorry if this didn't come out right.

I'll try to compensate for this by posting a more fluffier theme next time, 'kay? As always, I'm eager to know what you guys think of this chapter. So far, I got enormous feedback through Favorites and Followers (both for this story and my account) and especially Reviews, and it encouraged me to write for more than you would believe (I managed to write 7 pages on this one because of your support!).

My incredible thanks to everyone who reviewed so far on this story, especially "Guest". All comments made my day brighter and made me extremely happy and motivated to keep on writing. "Guest"'s comment especially, since it pretty much summed up everything I ever wanted somebody to say about my writing. **You guys all rock!**

As always, I am open for ideas and suggestions for future chapters.

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed! Please review!


	4. Foldable As Paper

**Fold-able As Paper**

* * *

"Ace..."

Ace's eyebrow twitches in annoyance at the whiny tone in his little brother's voice. He ignores it and continues eating, biting down on the meat more viciously than before to bring his point across. He tries to not glance at his otouto.

_This is ridiculous_, he thinks, munching on his piece of meat. _He's thirteen already, he knows he has to hunt for his own food_.

"Ace..."

He tries to ignore the slight waver when his little brother says his name; he gives up. He glances to his left, and as he predicted, he immediately regrets it.

Luffy's eyes are moist and wide, his bottom lip trembling and generally looking at him in a way that made Ace feel as if he's kicked ten puppies and a rabbit in front of a little girl. His littler brother sniffles once, twice, and that is all he needs to do before he folds brfoe his brother's Puppy Dog Eyes (with capital letters, because Ace is sure that his brother _invented _that goddamn look).

"Oh, fine! Here, have it!"

Ace grumbles all the way, but nobody points out the fact that the corners of his lips are tilted upwards or that he is affectionately ruffling his little brother's hair.

Ace glares at anyone who dares.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

Author Note:

This is more a drabble than anything else, but it still counts because I love it when Luffy gets his way XD Just read a story that said, and I quote, "Ace's face immediately softened. Despite how hard Ace always tried to act, he really was a marshmallow if you knew how to work him." I cracked up, because the image just stuck in my head.

I'll probably start making Ace a softie over the next few chapters or so, because Luffy is adorable and because we all know that people can't help but have a soft spot for him (ie, Zoro, Robin). Although I'll only do it if you guys really want more things like this.

I'll try posting something longer next time. For now, hope this will keep you all entertained! As always, I am immensely grateful for each and every single review that you have posted so far, and even more grateful for the reviews you keep on posting.

Hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!

Please review!


	5. Prediction Of The Future

**Prediction Of The Future**

* * *

_There is heat. Lots and lots of heat. Luffy feels desperate and he doesn't know why, and he feels scared, but he doesn't have any answers._

_And then there is danger. A lot of danger and fear and the preparation of hurt. Luffy glances up and the devil is there, and he tried to scream but he doesn't and Luffy doesn't know why because he's __**scared**__. There is pure hatred in the granite eyes and Luffy feels the heat of Hell coming closer and closer—_

_And then there is a savior._

_Luffy feels relieved for a while; secure. He feels as if he knows this person, and he somehow knows that this person loved him very much and will always protect him. But something is wrong and Luffy frowns because he doesn't know what—_

_And then there is pure, simple __**terror**__._

_Because Hell hit through his savior's chest and Luffy's mind goes blank and red at the same time because nononothiswasn'tsupposedto_happen_! They were supposed to escape together and-and—_

_The savior falls._

_And Luffy catches him._

_Something feels familiar about him but Luffy only stares at the devil for a moment before he glances at his savior and he sees—_

_Black hair. Wavy. Long._

_Familiar._

_And Luffy realizes with horror and terror who this is and the sudden grief and the pain is toomuchtoosoon and the agony twists in his stomach because this is—!_

Luffy wakes up with a shuddering breath.

He frantically looks around the room and sees the same wooden ceiling of his room and the same bō staff leaning against his door, but he doesn't relax because there is still grief and pain and it confuses him because he doesn't know _why_.

Luffy is shivering and there are tears in the corners of his eyes, but he isn't cold and he isn't sure why he feels like bawling on the floor like a baby when everything is _alright_.

He bites his lip and curls into a ball, tears escaping his eyes and trying to rub them away; it's useless because there are more and more and Luffy is so _confused _because he doesn't know what's going on. He is afraid to fall asleep again and he doesn't know why.

There are flashes of heat and deep grief that leaves him breathless and makes his heart stop. He sees flashes of a place and he painfully buries his eyes into his knees to block out the images, because he somehow knows that they will hurt him in a way nothing has ever done before and Luffy doesn't want that.

He grips his hair and pulls it, and the images disappear with the pain. He pulls harder and is satisfied when he can't see anything and when the guilt lessens, although he doesn't know why he should feel guilty.

He relaxes and plops back down onto his pillow, hands already reaching out to grab the duvet; but there is a flash of somebody grabbing him and Luffy's eyes rip open in an instant because there is so much _griefpainlamentdesperationfear__**horror**_that he chokes on air.

Luffy stumbles out of his bed before he is even thinking straight, painfully knocking his knees against the floor. But he doesn't mind because it clears his head for a while; he has to go somewhere (_where?_), somewhere specific, he knows (_safety_), somewhere where he isn't scared and secure (_assured_).

Ace.

_Ace._

Luffy falls over his feet twice before he reaches the door, shakily turning the doorknob and stumbling over to the door opposite to his; the name 'ACE' proudly written on the door makes him breathe out in relief. He desperately yanks down the handle of Ace's door and practically runs inside.

He dives under the covers; there is heat and warmth and a smell that is _Ace_, and his brain immediately translates that to _you're safe._

Luffy has never been so glad to agree with his brain.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

_There is anger. A lot of anger. He hasn't felt this angry since years, and anger isn't unfamiliar but hard to control for him. But he doesn't know why he's angry, and that confuses him because there's usually a reason for him to be mad. There is the anticipation for a fight, a desire to hurt somebody. He is familiar with that feeling and he wonders what that person had said to make him so angry._

_And then there is complete and utter **terror**._

_He world is suddenly ice-cold and his heart hammers in his throat. He turns and runs and everything is just a blur of gray walls and fire and Ace is so confused because he doesn't know what to do or why he feels so frightened._

_And then there's pain._

_So much **pain**._

_There is a stab that goes through his chest, followed by unbearable heat and he coughs up something—blood, maybe, although he doesn't know anymore—before it retreats. He falls, and he is prepared to fall to the floor but he doesn't because—_

_Someone catches him._

_And that someone feels familiar to him but he can't place it because pain overrides everything else in his mind. But he glances at the person who caught him and he sees—_

_Straw. Red. Black hair._

_And then there's peace and tranquility and he relaxes because he knows this person very well. But then, there is pain in his stomach that has nothing to do with his injury because he knows he will die and he **promised **he wouldn't to this person. He **promised **because he loves this person very much._

_With horror, he realizes he is dying in the arms of—_

Ace wakes up when he hears his door bounce against his wall.

He doesn't have much time to do anything when something dives into his covers; he wants to punch it, merely out of instinct, but stops because he hears sobs and he sees a tuft of inky black hair peak out of his duvet.

But mostly, he stops himself from punching his little brother because his brother senses are going insane inside his head.

He gently lifts up his covers and glanced into the darkness. He is glad that it is full moon tonight because otherwise he wouldn't be able to see anything; but it only takes one look and Ace wishes he hadn't looked.

Luffy's wide eyes stare back at him, terrified like the eyes of a rabbit cornered by a gigantic bear. There are dried trails of tears on his otouto's face and he is biting his lip in a very obvious effort to keep himself from crying.

Ace immediately pulls his little brother into his lap, grabbing the duvet and placing it over Luffy's shoulders. He ignores the fact that his little brother is nearly fourteen and leans against the wall, taking his otouto's arms and putting them around his neck gently.

He feels his little brother slump in his hold, and he gently pushes his brother's head under his chin, leaning his cheek against the crown of the boy's head. It seems like that action broke the dam because his little brother's grip tightens and he buried his head deeper into Ace's collarbone, sobbing.

Ace carefully strokes circles onto his little brother's back, rocking slightly just like he used to do when Luffy was younger and running into his room because of a storm. The gesture is nostalgic and feels somewhat melancholic to Ace, and he smiles slightly at the thought.

"Luffy?" Ace asks gently, glancing at his little brother but only seeing the inky blackness of Luffy's hair. "What's wrong?"

Luffy has to breath a few more times before he can answer. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Ace asks back, swaying from side to side. Years ago, he would've been mad and might have even hit Luffy for not knowing and wasting his time, but he doesn't anymore because he learned that it takes patience to deal with his little brother. Ace has enough patience now (_half of it painfully beaten into him by Makino's classes_).

"I'm scared," Luffy admits, a feat in itself because his little brother usually fears _nothing_. Ace starts to worry.

"Scared? Of what?"

"I don't know," Luffy whispers brokenly, and Ace reaches up one arm to stroke his brother's head gently. "I just feel as if something really bad just happened. Like, really _really _bad."

"A nightmare?" Ace suggests, thinking back on the dream and he feels dread pooling in his stomach (_a warning_), but he ignores it because Luffy comes first. "Or maybe you ate something bad?"

"I don't know," Ace feels his little brother bury himself further into his collarbone and sights, rubbing circles again and swaying from side to side. "I don't know, I'm sorry."

Ace quirks an eyebrow and tightens his grip on his otouto. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't know," his little brother whispers, and Ace hears the sobs and feels the tears again and he looks worriedly at his little brother. "I'm sorry. I don't know, I'm sorry. Sorry, Ace, I'm sorry. I don't know. Sorry—"

And for the first time in years, Ace does shushing noises again. The cries only get louder and the nimble fingers of his little brother dig into his shirt painfully,Luffy;s shoulders are heaving as if he is crying out all the grief in the _world _and it breaks Ace's heart into a million pieces because he doesn't know what to do.

"Stop apologizing—you have nothing to say sorry for, Luffy," he whispers, ruffling hair and rubbing his otouto's back and placing the covers back onto the quivering shoulders. "It's alright."

Ace feels his little brother nod against his shoulder, pressing his eyes into his neck and Aace grimaces, because it hurts slightly. But he only adjusts the duvet back onto his otouto's shoulder—

The last thing he remembers is his head hitting the wall.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

When Dadan sees Luffy's door open, she is surprised. She glances into the room and rolls her eyes when she finds nothing. _Of course_. She turns around and looks at Ac'es door, noticing that the door isn't properly closed. It is only slightly unusual since Ace tends to fall asleep as soon as he steps through the doorway.

She carefully pushes the door, just enough to peak her head in, and peeks inside. She smiles around the cigarette in her mouth at the sight and sighs. She has to bite down on her cigarette so that she doesn't laugh at the image. She closes the door.

And when Dadan walks down the corridor, she bursts our laughing because the image of Luffy's arms around his big brother's chest and his legs encircling Ace's hip and left leg while Ace strokes Luffy's hair just makes her smile.

The smile widens when she remembers that Ace was asleep and did it unconsciously.

.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.

Author Note:

The beginning nearly makes me cry T.T

Sorry, this is quite short-ish, but I'll write some more over the next week or so, depending on my mood. I seem to have some kind of obsession of Luffy and Ace sleeping together, I don't know why XD The image is just so cute with a capital 'C'.

This is also sorta the chapter I promised to one of the reviewers, Honeydee, who asked for some more hurt!Luffy. It's not very long, but I'll post another chapter with more hurt!Luffy and Panicked!Ace because we all know that Ace otherwise doesn't get it (at least, while he's younger. The older he gets the better/more accepting he is towards his brother, or something like that).

Any requests? I'm open for any ideas.

Hope you enjoyed and please review!


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